


Something There

by Lindanna



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Chickens, F/M, Farmer POV, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Go Easy On Me, Hot Chocolate, Mild Language, My First Fanfic, Shane POV, Shane being cute, Shane is sober, Shane's eight heart event, Songfic, Unnamed Farmer, Vignette, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23118250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lindanna/pseuds/Lindanna
Summary: Perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before?Takes place from Shane's eight heart event and onward.Loosely based off the song "Something There" from The Beauty and the Beast.
Relationships: Shane (Stardew Valley)/Original Female Character(s), Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Shane/Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 114





	Something There

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This is the very first piece of fanfiction I have EVER written! It's loosely based off the song "Something There" from The Beauty and the Beast. I have always enjoyed that song and thought the lyrics suited Shane and the farmer. 
> 
> I left the farmer unnamed but I based her off of my own.
> 
> It's supposed to be three snapshots in sequential order starting with Shane's eight heart event. Hopefully it isn't too confusing to read- I'm trying to sharpen my creative writing skills. I apologize for any formatting errors! 
> 
> Edit: I went through and polished this a bit. Can't believe how many errors there were! 
> 
> Well, enough rambling! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!! <3

**\---**

**There's something sweet**   
**And almost kind**   
**But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined**   
**But now he's dear, and so unsure**   
**I wonder why I didn't see it there before**

“Uncle Shane’s in the barn. He said... Uh...” Jas said through some giggles, “He said to tell you he wants to show you something!” 

“Really?” mused the farmer, putting a finger to her chin and taking a moment to ponder, much to the girl’s amusement, “I wonder what it could be.” 

She had just come in to purchase some last-minute hay from Marnie before winter kicked in and she found herself short of food. She was not expecting to find Jas giddily waiting behind the counter when she walked through the door. 

She looked at the smiling little girl with a confused smile of her own. Shane wanted to show _her_ something? She could get used to him being the one to initiate more in their friendship, not that it bothered her anyway. 

She nodded at Jas. “Lead the way, kiddo!” 

She wasn’t sure why she felt a sudden wash of anxiety. She had seen just about the worst of Shane, she figured. There wasn’t much that he was very proud of to show her, or show off to her, so this was new... and therefore little exciting. She followed behind Jas who had grabbed her hand and was tugging her through the kitchen and into their barn. 

As she entered, her eyes first caught sight of a large sign stating ‘Farm Fresh Eggs’ in dripping, red paint. _Ah_. She looked down to see the paint can was against the wall beneath it. Hay was strewn about the floor and the soft clucking of chickens filled the air. 

She shifted her gaze to see Shane holding a very fluffy hen. He looked livelier than she had ever seen him. A few stray feathers stuck to his old Joja hoodie, but he had a calm look on his face that the hen seemed to mirror. 

He took notice of the door opening and set the hen down gently. 

“Hey farmer!” he gave her a smile that she had never really seen on his face before. He looked...refreshingly happy. 

_Oh my_

She had always thought Shane possessed a sort of rugged handsomeness, but since when was it so... _obvious?_

“so...what do you think?” He gestured to the hens milling about the coop. She had only just now noticed that they were... blue? “My special blue hens... I’ve been raising them in secret for the last few months.” He turned to look at her, and she swore his face was dusted pink. “I... Well, I won't be living here forever, and I wanted to pass something on to Jas. I’ve been teaching her how to take care of them.” 

The farmer looked back to the blue chickens. Jas was chasing them and giving them pets when she could get close enough. He wouldn’t be living here forever? Did he mean to leave the valley? Or... perhaps move in with someone else? 

She instantly thought of the size of her bed, and how it could definitely fit two comfortably. Life on the farm was a bit lonely, after all. 

_Oh my._

“I want to feel like I’m not just a leech to the world. I want to contribute somehow, even in a small way like this,” he said, looking over the coop. 

There were a thousand things she was thinking but none of them quite made it to her voice: how it hurt her heart to hear him say anything negative about himself. How he had been strong enough to dig himself out of that dark hole and rebuild his life. How he looked already more vibrant after only going to therapy for a few weeks. How his eyes held love for the birds that currently surrounded him. 

She watched him carefully pick up another hen and scratch its head. The hen seemed so content in his arms she couldn’t help but wonder if she would feel the same way if she were held there too. 

“Shane,” she said, failing to hide the smile on her face and the blush coming to her cheeks, “I don’t know how you did it, but this is wonderful!” She gestured to the bird in his arms. “They love you. I don’t think you’re a leech at all, and neither do they. You have so much to offer, and I’m glad you’re starting to see it too.” 

This was all a very pleasant surprise to the farmer. Shane had come so very far from the grumpy, anti-social, and downright mean drunk he had been when she first moved to the valley nearly a year ago. Their first meeting was boiled down to a failed attempt on her part to approach him in his spot in the saloon and him telling her to kindly _'fuck off'_ before going back to sulking into his mug. It had been a long year, full of ups and downs and special plots of land dedicated to growing hot peppers when she could have been growing something more profitable- but seeing Shane open up and finding a friend in him was beyond worth it. That and these smiles he seemed to be giving out to her freely now. She hadn’t expected any of those, but Yoba was she willing to take them when he offered. 

“Thank you,” he said, handing the hen to her, giving it one more pat on the head when it settled into her arms, “I really don’t think I would’ve come so far without you.” 

The pink on his cheeks was definitely not a part of her imagination this time. How had she not fully noticed how handsome he was until now? Sobriety looked good on Shane. He gave her another one of those smiles, and she returned one just as big, failing to cover up the feeling of her heart ready to explode. 

\---

 **She glanced this way**   
**I thought I saw**   
**And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw**   
**No it can't be, I'll just ignore**   
**But then she's never looked at me that way before**

The Pelican Town Square was beautifully decorated and lit with snowflake banners and twinkle lights. The sun was just starting to set, and that gave the square a warm and comforting glow. The townsfolk were cheery and Shane was waiting anxiously by the food where he had found himself eating years prior. However, this year, his adrenaline was pumping just enough to make him stand instead of sit and only pick at his food instead of mindlessly shovel it down like normal. 

The festival had started nearly two and a half hours ago and the farmer hadn’t shown up yet. 

Shane couldn’t figure out why it bothered him so much. 

_She’s just getting ready,_ he thought to himself, _she still has to run a farm after_ _all._

Since going to therapy, he'd been working on not letting his thoughts turn completely negative and self-destructive. She was a busy woman with her own life and lots of responsibilities. He used to get annoyed with her for being so busy- annoyed with himself for caring because he told himself that it was just an excuse to get away from him. Why would anyone want anything to do with him? Shane didn’t even like himself. 

Well, he didn’t used to. She had helped him through that. They were friends, and he was still new to the idea that she thought of him as a whole person after his incident at the cliffs. That she was in the running with Marnie for being ‘Shane’s #1 Fan’ when it came to him going to therapy. That he had showed her his secret blue chickens and she gave him that smile that made his blood pressure spike. 

So, what if she was a little late? It was no bother. It wasn’t like Shane had spent his last visit to the city searching for hours for the perfect gift for her. It was by some luck (or whisper from Marnie to Lewis) that he ended up as her secret gift-giver. He fought with himself not to buy 10 gifts. She wouldn’t have wanted him to spend all that money on her anyway. He wanted to give something to show he was grateful for their friendship. 

\-- 

Shane was so deep in thought that he didn’t hear her arrival. Didn’t see the flush in Harvey’s cheeks when she gifted him a homemade basket of mugs and coffee beans that she had grown herself on the farm. Didn’t even see her looking around or the smile that came to her face when she spotted him staring at his plate of turkey and mindlessly mashing his already mashed yams into oblivion. 

“Hey Shane, it’s good to see you,” she said with a smile, a little wide-eyed at Shane jumping enough to cause his fork to send mashed yam flying right into the hot chocolate she was holding out for him. 

_Oh shit._

"Oh shit, sorry about your-” Shane started, looking at her with surprise and guilt on his face. She simply laughed and took a small sip out of the hot chocolate to get rid of it. 

“Here,” she said, holding out the hot chocolate, “I got this for you. I figured you might need some warming up since all you’re wearing is your hoodie.” 

Shane nodded in thanks and processed everything that had just happened in the last 10 seconds. 

He felt his heart lurch into his throat when she said his name. She was standing there- her pale hair, almost as pale as the snow, shined in the twinkling lights. She had her hair down, which was something he had never seen before. She usually kept it all braided up into a bun, which made sense since she worked day and night on the farm. Her hair was so long- so, so long that Shane had to stop his eyes from following it down to where it ended and stop his blush from turning too dark on his cheeks. She had just drunk from his cup with her plump and very soft looking lips. She was wrapped under a homemade hat and scarf, and she was holding another hot chocolate, presumably her own, in her other hand. Her eyes were big and pale and silvery in the low light, and she looked up at him with a slightly confused smile. 

“Oh, well, maybe if you don’t like hot chocolate-“ She started to pull the cup back. 

“No,” he said, a maybe a little too quickly, “I love hot chocolate, thank you.” He took it from her and their fingers brushed for just a moment. He blinked a few times and promptly downed the entire mug in one go. 

_Damn_. It was _still_ hot. His tongue burned almost as much as his cheeks did. 

She gave him a surprised look but then smiled. 

“Wow. I guess you really do love hot chocolate, huh? I’ll have to figure out how to make it on the stove then. I’m learning new things about you every day!” she smiled, and looked off for a moment while sipping her drink, contemplating if it were even possible to grow cocoa on her farm or if she had to make a visit to the desert for some raw chocolate. 

Shane coughed, more than a little flustered, “yeah. I guess I do.” 

He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he felt so _awkward._ She was his friend. She had seen him at his very worst. Why was he sweating in his raggedy and _thin_ Joja hoodie? Why was he just staring at her instead of giving her the gift?? 

“Shane-“ he was interrupted by the soft voice of Penny behind him, who looked only a bit sheepish for ruining their moment. “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to give you your gift. I’m your secret gift-giver this year,” she said, ignoring the guilt she felt for taking away Shane’s attention. “But if you’re busy right now maybe-“ 

“It’s no problem,” the farmer said with a smile, “I was just going to refill our mugs anyway. Perfect timing.” She gave the mugs a shake, gave them both a nod and a smile, and headed towards Gus. 

Shane allowed his eyes to follow her long hair cascading down her back and to her thighs for just a moment before turning his attention back to Penny. 

She was holding out a small box wrapped in blue shimmering paper. He took it and gave her the calmest smile he could muster with his adrenaline going as crazy as it was. He opened it and inside was a small key chain with a gridball charm attached to it. The letter ‘ _S_ ’ was engraved on the back of the charm. 

“Oh wow, thank you Penny. This is wonderful,” he said, smiling at her. He took it out of the box and attached it to his hoodie zipper for the moment. It was strange: being nice to the other townsfolk and having them be nice in return. She blushed in a way that worried Shane. 

“Great! I’m so glad you like it. I wasn’t sure what to get you but I had a little help from Jas to make sure it was perfect,” she said, not making eye-contact. She could see the farmer finishing filling up the second mug of hot chocolate. “Well, I just wanted to give you your gift and say hi. I should be going now. I’ll see you around Shane,” she said, turning, and hoping he would tell her that it was okay and that he wanted her to stay.

“Thanks Penny,” he said, a polite smile on his lips, “really, it’s great. I’ll see you around.” 

_What is going on?!_

And like usual, the farmer had perfect timing. She was back holding out a second mug of piping hot chocolate to him. It was like she knew he felt like drowning- and there she was, ready to pull him up and out of the depths. 

“Wow, what a great gift,” she said, gesturing to the key chain, “Penny really went all out huh? That was really nice of her.” She held her mug in both hands for warmth and took a sip. “I was Harvey’s secret gift-giver this year. He loved the coffee beans I grew. I’m excited to find out who my secret gift-giver is!” she wagged her eyebrows and smiled and took another sip. 

At the mention of Harvey’s name, Shane felt the color drain from his face. What was he doing out here? Harvey was a _doctor_. Shane was an ex-drunk and stocked shelves for a living. Shane was a washed-up gridball player who had to go to therapy to get fixed. He didn’t help anybody the way Harvey did. Shane wasn't useful. Shane was nothing compared to the town physician. 

_No. T_ _he farmer_ _is your friend. She is wonderful and kind and she is a grown woman who is_ _free to choose her friends. And t_ _hat includes you. She is your friend too._

“Actually,” he coughed, his free hand moving to the back of his neck. He hoped to cover up the sound of his pulse. “It’s me. Here.” He said, fishing the small box out of his pocket. He held it out to her, and the smile that erupted on her face and the way she looked in his eyes was enough to make him want to die right there. 

She set down her drink, unwrapped the box and gasped when she opened it. Inside was a delicate, silver chain with a small chicken on the end. In place of the chicken's eye was a small aquamarine. 

“Oh wow, Shane! This- this is so lovely,” she carefully held it up and it watched it sparkle in the twinkling lights. “Thank you so much. I love this!” She quickly held it up to him, turned her back, and motioned for him to put it around her neck. 

“Would you put it on for me?” she said, moving her hair to the side, “it’s a little hard to do it myself with all my hair down.” 

“I think it’s pretty,” he muttered, then a bit louder, “I’ve never seen your hair down. You should wear it like this more often.” He held the necklace and with slightly trembling hands, he put it around her neck and clasped it. Her skin was so warm and he might have held his hands there for a little longer than he meant to. 

“There you go, it’s on,” he said, hands burning where his fingers had touched her neck. 

She turned and thanked him, her hand touching the small pendant. When she looked up and smiled at him, there was a look in her eyes he couldn’t distinguish. 

_Oh_ _Yoba_. 

If Shane had felt like dying before, he swears this time he really did get hit with an arrow straight in the chest. He was done for. Just roll his body over the cliffs and give Charlie to Jas. 

“Thank you, Shane, this is really beautiful,” she said, still playing with the small charm. “I don’t wear a lot of jewelry... but it’s only because I don’t have a lot!” 

“You're welcome,” he muttered out, making a note to return to the jewelry store after his next therapy appointment in ZuZu City. “It really is nothing. I just wanted to get something to show you how much I appreciate you being there for me, and for being my friend.” He rubbed the back of his neck again, this time sheepishly looking anywhere but at her. 

When he did, she gave him another smile, another indistinguishable look, and simultaneously shot another arrow into his heart. 

\---

 **New and a bit alarming**   
**Who'd have ever thought that this could be?**   
**True that he's no Prince Charming**   
**But there's something in him that I simply didn't see**

The farmer slipped through the archway that led to the Flower Dance with a light fluster on her cheeks. She tried to make her somewhat late entrance not terribly noticeable.

This part of the valley was the perfect spot for the Flower Dance. Evelyn’s flowers buckets were in full bloom and added a beautiful pop of color to the vibrant green that surrounded the villagers. The air was warm and the breeze was fresh. Spring was certainly lovely in the valley. 

Pierre gave her a slight smile and a nod from behind his booth as she passed by. 

_Damn. Of course, it’ll be noticeable that I’m late. How could I have thought otherwise?_

She surveyed the festival and found Leah and Elliot near the river. Close enough to walk to without causing a big scene. 

“Hello Leah, Elliot” she said, smiling as she approached them. 

They both look thrilled to see her. 

“Oh my,” said Elliot, giving a small bow to her. After an entire year, her friend was still too kind. “Our farmer is quite the blossoming flower herself, wouldn’t you agree, Leah?” 

Leah laughed and shook her head in agreement. “You look lovely. It’s no wonder you’re an hour late... getting all done up must have taken quite some time!” 

The farmer blushed at the mention of her late arrival. She really hadn’t meant to be late. She just wanted to make a better impression that she did last year, when she had shown up in dirty and slightly damp overalls after spending the morning fighting with her new sprinklers. 

“Yes,” she said, a bit sheepishly, “braiding my hair this way does take a bit of effort, not to mention arm strength. You’d think I’d have that by now doing all that farm work.” She laughed, and put her hand to the back of her neck as she talked. 

She wasn’t exactly lying either. It _had_ taken quite some time to get her hair braided into a crown that wrapped twice around her head. It took even longer to figure out the perfect dress, one appropriate for the occasion. She had tried on each one she owned at least ten times before settling on a cute, lacy white sundress that had big poppies embroidered on the bottom- one with sleeves that stopped at her elbows and a skirt that stopped just below the knee. In her braided crown, she had woven some fairy roses and poppies that she had grown on the farm. She settled on light makeup, but added red lipstick, just for good measure. 

Around her neck, she wore the delicate chicken necklace Shane had given to her a few weeks before. 

“Well, I suppose I should make the rounds,” she said, surveying the rest of the villagers. She said her goodbyes and slowly made her way around the festival, taking care to avoid the buffet. 

_You’re only avoiding him because you’re nervous. There’s no reason to be nervous! He’s doing so well now. He might even ask someone to dance!_

She glanced over to where Shane was sitting. Near the food, as always, eating what seemed to be some otherworldly red jelly. Penny was next to him, looking flustered but not talking, and when the farmer gazed over to Sebastian, Abbigail, and Sam, she noticed that Sam didn’t look as visibly cheery as he always did. Maybe it was the allergies. Whatever it was didn’t last long though, when after what she could only guess was too long sitting in flustered silence and not getting any closer to being asked to dance, Penny excused herself from Shane and headed over to the group of Solarian players to say hello. 

When she glanced back over to Shane, he was looking at her, hand frozen, still holding a fork in his mouth and cheeks puffed out, full of jelly. She couldn’t help the smile that came to her face, and gave him a nod of greeting. She turned away to chat a moment with Linus, before heading to say hello to Marnie. 

“You look beautiful,” said the older woman, giving the farmer and her friend a hug, “I don’t blame you for being a bit late.” The farmer blushed at this. Was everyone just waiting around for her to show up? “Shane’s over by the buffet,” Marnie said, nodding in Shane’s direction, “he’s been waiting for you to arrive. He’ll be happy to see you!” Marnie gently patted her back, willing her to head in that direction. 

At this, the farmer’s heart swelled two times the size in her chest. She took a big breath of air and tried to tame the heat she felt in her cheeks. She hadn’t even talked to him yet. Why was it _so_ warm already _?_

She approached the buffet table and got herself some nice, cold punch, hoping it would cool her down just a bit. Tasting it to make sure Pam hadn’t added slipped in any of her own special ‘juice’ yet, she got a glass for Shane too. 

“Hello Shane,” she said, her smile brighter than the sun, “here,” she held out the punch to him, “I got you some punch. I figured you might be warm in that get-up.” 

In honesty, that ‘get-up’ was perhaps the best she had ever seen Shane look. Sure, he still had his scruffy 5 o’clock shadow (she liked him that way anyway), and his bow tie hung untied around his neck after what she could only guess to be one-too-many failed attempts at tying it. But he looked so handsome. Painfully so, she thought. 

“Heh, thanks,” he said, taking the drink and not minding the one that Penny had given to him earlier – the one that was currently by his feet and only half drunk out of courtesy. He took a drink and it cooled the sudden warmth he felt in his chest when the farmer had approached him. 

“I mean ‘get-up’ as nice as possible,” she smiled, bumping her shoulder to his, “you look nice Shane. Sobriety looks good on you.” She blushed, but she meant it. He had lost some weight since cutting out the alcohol, and it made his jawline just that more defined. The muscles he gained from his gridball days were starting to make a reappearance. His eyes seemed brighter and he no longer looked like he was perpetually lacking sleep. He looked overall healthier, and almost better yet, vibrant and alive. 

What she didn’t know was that he _was_ feeling more alive, especially when she was in his presence. He had spent the entire time getting ready for the festival pumping himself up just to ask her to dance. Jas squealed in excitement when he came into the kitchen trying to tie his bow tie for the fifth time. 

It was just a dance, after all. He knew Demetrius had some fertility mumbo-jumbo associated with it, but he simply wanted to dance with his friend and have a good time. That was, until, 30 minutes had passed and the farmer still hadn’t shown up. Then to top it off, Penny had decided to sit next to him and have a chat. He figured it would take his mind off of worrying but all it did was make him more anxious. 

“Thank you,” he coughed out, his fist coming up to smack his chest. “You look great, and your hair looks beautiful,” he blushed, but fought through it, “Jas is going to beg you to teach her how to do that when she sees you, by the way.” He chuckled, but kept his hand to his chest. 

_Damn._ He was afraid the farmer might be able to feel how hard his heart was beating from her spot next to him. 

She took a moment to smile into her drink. As she sipped, her eyes made contact with Marnie, who was watching the pair and grinning wildly. She looked back to Shane who was concentrating on poking his jelly and trying to get the courage to ask her to dance. 

“Hey,” she said, getting his attention. She was giving him that look again: the one he had first seen in his dusty chicken coop and then again after giving her the necklace that was currently around her delicate neck. “Why don’t we go stretch our legs? I haven’t said hello to Jas yet,” she nodded towards the area where Jas and her best friend, Vincent, were playing. 

He smiled and stood up. His bones only cracked a little from sitting so long, and his heart was beating more freely than ever. 

\--- 

“Well, who'd have thought?” mused Gus, nodding his head towards Shane and the farmer dancing the Flower Dance together. 

Shane wasn’t a great dancer. He frequently stepped on the farmer's feet and he was a little more than flustered to be holding a woman so close. She didn't seem to mind.

“Well, bless my soul,” said Marnie, who watched as her nephew blushed at whatever the farmer had just whispered into his ear. 

“Well, who'd have known?” Lewis asked, somewhat rhetorically. 

The three were standing together near the buffet as they watched the younger villagers of Pelican Town dance together; all lazily sipping from their glasses of punch and enjoying a bit of gossip.

“Well, who indeed?” replied Marnie, smiling as she watched the pair. Of course, she had known the minute the farmer had entered her shop by the way Shane blushed while eating the rest of the homemade pizza the farmer had given him the day before. 

“And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?” Gus added. 

That, again, was helped only slightly by Marnie giving Lewis the friendly suggestion of making Shane the farmers secret gift-giver for the Feast of the Winter Star, among other things. 

“Yes, It's so peculiar. Well, we’ll wait and see,” said Marnie with a smile. Shane had just whispered something back to the farmer, which in turn made her nearly lose her footing and hang on just a little closer to him. “Just a few days more.”   
  
“There may be something there that wasn't there before,” suggested Lewis with a nudge to Marnie's shoulder. The three laughed at their speculation surrounding the young potential couple. 

“Perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before,” Marnie said, knowing her speculation to be true by the way the dance had officially ended nearly 10 minutes ago but Shane and the farmer were still holding hands as they chatted and laughed and made their way back towards Pelican Town. 


End file.
